Dressing for NFL press box

Khakis and a polo the first time, but check out what everyone else is wearing, if you so desire, and dress accordingly the next time if you go often.

FWIW, I've seen a lot of jeans at Cowboys and Rangers games in the pressbox.

 

You'll always find someone who is dressed worse than you...

Ties sometimes make it seem like you're trying too hard... I'll wear a sportscoat over a button-down shirt and no one says a word, but if you wear a tie, you'll spend the entire game justifying it to someone who is wearing shorts and birks...

 

"Justifying." That's exactly the word I was looking for. It reminds me of if you put, say, ketchup on your steak and everyone makes a big deal out of it and wants to know why, how could you, etc., etc. Like it's their concern.

 

Eeeeew, you put ketchup on steak? Why would you do that?

 

I don't. The point is - why do other people care?

 

My first year covering baseball, I was really young and trying not to look it so I wore a coat and tie to every game... I was teased mercilessly for a few months by the other writers. I don't want to say it bothered me, but it was enough for me to stop doing it after a few months...

It's kind of sad that in this business dressing like a homeless person can be a badge of honor, but wearing a tie gets you made fun of... Of course, I've been made fun of for not drinking, so that right there tells you a lot...

 

Apparently, you didn't recognize the sarcasm font.

 

I agree with Mizzou on everything but the jeans ... as long as you're not wearing the same torn up jeans you wore to the Winger show last Thursday, they can be fine, paired with a nice shirt and a coat.

 

At one place I worked, the dress code was never be the worst dressed person in the room.

It's a statement I've turned into a personal code. Appearances are everything, even in the press box.

I'd wear khakis or dress pants and a button down shirt at a minimum. You don't need a tie. Feel free to sub a mock for the button-down and add a sweater vest or blazer.

 

I do that and have gotten shit for it. I thought I was alone in this world, but now I know there are other people just like me, people who aren't afraid to put squished up tomatos on chopped up cow insides, so fuck you, fuck you, you're cool, fuck you, I'm out.

(I'd like to thank the Academy ...)

 

Baseball is a little bit of a different deal, though. For one thing, there's a game every day, and most poorly paid sportswriters can't afford the wardrobe to dress up for all of them. Plus, it's played through the summer when it's hotter than hell, and dressing up can be uncomfortable. You'll see a lot of shorts, T-shirts, sandals, sneakers, jeans, Hawaiian shirts and that type of thing in most baseball press boxes, mostly worn by the veterans. And with baseball writers as notoriously cliquish (is that a word?) as they are, I can see them making fun of the rookie wearing a coat and tie to every game.

Not saying it's right, just saying I can easily see such a thing happening.

 

Yeah, I just don't get that.